Why do I travel?

I was asked to write for the Logica’s Women Network blog on Travel. They couldn’t  have chosen a better topic for me to write on. Below is what I posted on the Garam Chai blog.

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page! -  St. Augustine

I love to travel, explore new places and re-explore already explored places!
People who know me say, my eyes twinkle and I become a different person when I talk of old travels and plan for new travels.
Why do I travel? To learn and grow – when I visit better countries, I wish to improve my own. I have now realized it is possible to drive without honking and I do try to do so. And if I travel to a country worse than mine, I learn to appreciate my own country.

The perspective of the word Still changed after my visit to the Amazon Forest.
Visiting Hampi, Ajanta & Ellora, Golden temple, I learnt that as we build the so called ‘state of art’ sky scrapers, we forget Beauty.
Fear was redefined after being chased by an elephant in Kabini.
Skydiving in New Zealand instilled in me a new found Respect for myself.
Scandinavians give a new character to the word Honesty.
As we travelled in the Norwegian Fjords, I discovered Majestic.
For the first time we Listened to our guide to stick together, after my friends were mugged on Copacabana beach in Rio.

I could go on and on but for now I want to leave you all with a beautiful quote from Mark Twain - “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Red Bull Air Race - London 2008

Red Bull Air Race - the name said it all…high energy and excitement…and I was not disappointed! It was awesome!
Red Bull Air Race is an international series of air races held in different cities. The pilots have to navigate a challenging obstacle course made up of a series of huge inflatable cones called ‘air gates’ in the fastest possible time.
Pilots must not only be fast but deftly accurate as hitting these air gates, missing an air gate or flying through at an incorrect angle incurs various time penalties. Quite death defying!
Pilots fly individually against the clock. There are 2 types of penalties – the 3 sec and the 10 sec one, which basically means that either 3 secs or 10 secs will get added to their clocked time.
Apart from that if they do what qualifies as dangerous flying – flying too low or crossing the crowd line they get disqualified.
If the plane hits an air gate, it is designed to break apart. Course personnel nicknamed "Air Gators" replace the damaged parts of the air gate. They were quite impressive. They took barely a few minutes to bring up a fallen air gate.
The races are held mainly over water near cities, but also at airfields or natural wonders.
And this year in London, River Thames against the backdrop of the 02 arena was the base for the race. Seating was arranged on both sides of the riverside. The air gates were floating on the river.
The day started with some other side activities before the qualifying races. There was the skydiving where a few guys jumped from the helicopter leaving behind them a trail of orange. That was good but what followed just took my breath away. The Helicopter Spinning or back flipping was mind blowing. A helicopter is a much heavier aircraft than the usual aircrafts used to do acrobatics and when it spun around in the air it left us all gasping with admiration. It's one thing to see a fixed wing aircraft do manoeuvres like that but it's totally different to see it being done in a helicopter. Then there was the Helicopter rescue sequence, which was also quite good.
And finally the excitement of the actual races as the pilots zoomed about. It wasn’t long before we had our favourites and mine was Péter Besenyei, the Hungarian.
All in all I had a great time!

Robin Hood Events

For team building Logica organized an archery day out for the AON onsite team members...
A first look at the website for Robin Hood Events and I was totally excited and fully charged up for the day out.
It sounded like great fun...we don't shoot real animals or people - more the pity, because we could all think of a few candidates we would like to shoot!!!
Started in a coach from London at 7:30 AM, chocolates to munch on the way, general banter and chatting and before we realized we were in Canterbury by 9:30 AM.
This is a ’after a simple but yummy breakfast just before the event’ snap...

3 women – so we were divided into 3 teams...The Clueless led by Pam Lewis, The Little Johns led by Dawn Eyles and The Punters led by yours truly...

Equipped with our bows, quiver with 5 arrows each, protected with our finger tabs and arm bracers we started with 3 quick practice rounds on a normal target...one of the shots in the 1st session was a bulls eye...wish I had been able to shoot like that the whole day!!!

Competitive rounds of shooting different animals from huge bears to tiny owls followed this.

And not all targets were stationary…we had birds hanging with string and it being a windy day they were moving!!!
That’s our moving target

And then there was a speed round…15 secs to shoot the 5 arrows that we had. While in the other rounds we were shooting randomly (each one was identified by a unique combination of the cock and hen feathers on our arrows) and in the end checking the targets…for this round we were shooting as a team.
This is my team in the speed round…

The negative marking round not to be missed – a wolf and a coyote in the middle of several sheep. If you hit a sheep...lose points.
This is a picture with the hits on the wolf and coyote…at the back you can see the hits on the white sheep…

A hit or a kill – many animals had an area marked out…you hit in that…it is a kill. Anywhere else it is just a hit.
That’s a kill!

Volleys- pictures of people we would like to shoot had been provided to the organisers in advance. These were pinned to some of the animals and you had a volley if you managed to shoot them.
And this is a volley…its also Murali who managed to get into all the snaps irrespective of whether he managed to hit the target or not!!!

Finally a knockout round to decide the Archer of the day…that’s all of us competing for the title that was eventually a close contest between Luke and Simon.

The final scores

Clueless - 202

Little Johns - 184

The Punters - 183

Explorer Day Out To Bath

To really know and experience a city is by taking a walking tour of the city...
Bath is considered the world's most perfect Georgian city. Moreover its a very compact city - the city centre being only a mile in diameter, making it very easy to walk around...So when I found the London Walk's explorer day to BATH I knew this was not to be given a miss...especially since it was on a Saturday!
Incidentally, Bath is England's second most popular visitor destination after London!!!

After a week of rain and drizzle, Saturday was a nice and bright day...and on top of that a brilliant guide like Richard...it was like the icing on the cake...

We started our walk along the Avon River then over the Pulteney Bridge. Designed by Robert Adam it is one of only four bridges in the world with shops across the full span on both sides. The space in the columns of the bridge was also not wasted and the shops had the storerooms there...

From there as we walked along, Richard pointed out several sites and gave us a quick rundown on the history of Bath. All buildings are made of beautiful cream-colored limestone.

Finally we reached The Circus...It is one of the architectural beauties of Bath...Imagine a circle divided into 3 segments of 33 townhouses with a wide road in front and the centre is a beautiful lawn with trees...Its classical Palladian architecture and the inspiration came from the Roman Colosseum, but whereas the Colosseum was designed to be seen from the outside, the Circus faces inwardly.
There are 3 floors in each house and we can see three columns each of which is of a different classical order - Greek Doric, Roman/Composite and Corinthian. The frieze of the Doric section is decorated with alternating triglyphs and 525 pictorial emblems. The parapet is adorned with stone acorns. There is a story behind the acorns - Bladud was a prince who was banished from court on account of his leprosy. He settled on the outskirts Bath and became a swineherd. He used to take his pigs to a place where hot spring water combined with earth to form an area of warm mud, in which the pigs loved to wallow. However, Bladud observed that pigs that went into the mud with skin diseases came out cured, so he decided to try the mud as a remedy for his leprosy. The cure was successful and since pigs eat acorns we see the acorns here...ahha hahhha...
A house here recently sold for 7 million pounds...whew...its is considered one of the poshest areas to stay in England...

A short walk and we reached The Royal Crescent - 30 homes connected in a graceful arch. Servants lived in the top floor, with kitchens in the basement, and they would haul in water from an outdoor pump in the park in front.

The Circus and The Royal Crescent when viewed from the air appear like a giant circle and crescent, symbolising the sun and moon.

Bath's most famous resident is Jane Austen and 2 of her books - Persuasion and Northanger Abbey are largely set here and several of her other books reference life in Bath. We walked the Gravel Path, which finds mention in her books as we moved back towards the city centre.


Break for lunch where we decided to try the famous Lunn Bath Buns...and we were not disappointed...my Cinnamon Butter bun was absolutely divine...

Post Lunch we were to meet in the city centre, which has an ancient church, the Bath Abbey. Abbey Church Yard, in front of the church has lovely views of the church façade, the Roman Bath Museum and the Pump Rooms all around. Comfortable benches provide a good vantage to watch the street performers.
It was our lucky day cause as we waited for Richard to get the tickets for the Roman Baths Museum we saw Morris dancers. A Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. The dancers may also wield implements such as sticks, swords, and handkerchiefs.
Bath's as been designated as a World Heritage Site...its heritage is the world famous Roman Baths. Romans invaded England for a short period before they decided to return to defend Italy. They discovered England's only hot spring and built a magnificent temple and baths around it that still flow with natural hot water.
A museum has been built on the site, incorporating many of the original Roman structures and artefacts that reveal how civilized Bath's citizens were 2,000 years ago.
They had 2 audio tours - one was the normal one and some of the sites had an option for a children's audio guide featuring Roman characters and their stories. Richard recommended the latter and I found it to be quite entertaining...
Our last stop was a view of the Sham Castle - a view as Ralph Allen would have from his town house...its a sham coz there is no castle...it has only a front view and there is no construction at the back...since Mr Allen liked to show off...

Winter Wonderland and Themepark simulator rides

The Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park was not really as impressive as I expected it to be…not very large and the rides there seemed to be more like for kiddies really…an old-fashioned carousel, a haunted mansion, sliding down an ice slope on tires, jumping on a trampoline while tethered to pulleys by bungee cords, a ferris wheel etc.

There was also the much hyped largest outdoor ice skating rink in England. I would have expected a far more festive and much larger ice rink (looking at the pictures on the adverts for this event) but it didn’t seem that huge… regardless of that it was packed with skaters.

But I did get my first taste of a simulator ride here…like my cousin said …it was as close I could get to getting on to a roller coaster. (Since I had just been telling them how much I enjoy roller coasters).

It was one of those high-tech simulator-ride capsules…quite small – it takes up to 14people at a time. It was just loaded at the back of one of those heavy equipment trailers –what a space saver and flexible too…just drive it to the next location.

My first impression (as I looked at it from outside it just seemed to be moving very little) was it won’t be anything great…probably again only for kiddies… but I guess I was wrong…
It was quite amazing….the theme for the one we got onto was the galaxy…and while sitting on the ride all I could think was – such a small capsule and capable of creating such fantasy …and what thrill…I guess speed was quite high coz we actually were moving from one end to the other on the seat.

It still cannot replace a real roller coaster…but when one does not have an option for a roller coaster this will do!!!

Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium

When my cousin called and said she had got tickets for a car racing event and that I should keep my Sunday free I thought it was some local racing event. Moreover since I was crazy busy at work, doing late hours I didn’t even get a chance to check out the event on the net.

So it was a total surprise …and a pleasant one at that when I reached there and realized that all the world champs were there…

Called The Race of Champions, it brings together drivers and racers from all forms of motorsport to see who’s the fastest. It’s unique as the competitors use exactly the same cars on a parallel track so that the drivers’ talent behind the wheel becomes the deciding factor.

There are 2 titles to be won – The Champion of Champions at the individual level and The Nations Cup to decide the fastest motor sport nation on the planet.

The likes of F1 Champion Michael Schumacher, F1 drivers Jenson Button and David Coulthard, World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx, Triple Champ Car Champion Sébastien Bourdais, Tom Kristensen, Mattias Ekström, Jimmie Johnson took part in this event.
Former World Rally Champion Colin McRae was supposed to take part. But due to his untimely death a couple of months back his seat was offered to his brother - Alister McRae.
The National teams (of two drivers) that participated for the cup were England, Scotland, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Finland and USA.

Wembley Stadium had been turned into a mini motor racing circuit. The race was in a knockout competition format …so we had a short races one after the other…
The cars (and drivers) seemed to have too much power for the narrow track. Moreover the track seemed too small and with too many turns...many times while maneuvering the curves I felt that the car moved horizontally and would just go off the track…Upteen times they brushed against the walls and dividers…all of which added to the excitement in the crowd…

In between the races, while the cars were being prepared for the next race, we had the other car events on the track as well as motorbike display riders
I think it was Travis (not sure)…who really entertained everyone with his car antics on the race track. He performed what is called the doughnut- literally he made the car go round and round in the same place…and after giving it a lot of race he jumped out of the car…and the car kept going in circles…it was toooooo kewl…
And then as part of a funny act - he got into another car and was about to speed off…but was stopped…so he jumped back into the car that was moving in circles and drove off the track….Amazing….

The motorbike riders were also excellent…Its like.. they fling themselves into the air and the bike seems weightless in their hands as the turn over mid air…

Many times we see car races and motor bike riders performing on TV…but live …is another experience altogether….
Thanks to my cousin for an unforgettable day…

VIP Day

1st Dec was VIP (Very Important Pedestrians) day in London.
London's West End... the famous shopping streets - Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street were made traffic free from 10.30am

Though the sun was out, it was pretty windy and chilly...but we braved the chill since there was to be street entertainment ...live performances from street theatres, musicians, bands and 2 of UK’s best aerial street performances – the spectacular Heliosphere show and the extraordinary conedancers...

As we walked down we realized that most people coming from the opposite site were eating the same chocolate…and as we reached Selfridges we saw several people dressed as elves distributing chocolates...

Munching our chocolates as we moved down Oxford Street we heard the typical Pipe Bands...dressed in the Scottish attire (a lot like the ones in Braemer)...and imagine my surprise when I realised that the whole band was Indian!!!

We turned towards New Bond Street and noticed a Punjabi dhol band walking down... suddenly they broke into their act...its that kind of music that just wants you to take off dancing…unfortunately we could not join them...as we did not wanna surprise the Londoners...though I am sure if this had happened in India we would have had everyone and everybody from the street dancing!

At the end we could see a cone shaped baloony structure...that was the cone dancers...we decided to go watch them...but were distracted on the way when we saw a shop where a girl was standing in the show window and a guy had cut up her tee in some places and was knotting it up and converting it into a designer tee. He really was brilliant and the tee looked good...the funda was that this guy was some designer from USA (I couldn’t get his name), you purchase a tee from that shop and he cuts it and knots it up for you as you are wearing it...A guy said that if this guys scissors touch a tee its price goes up to 400 quids!!! Sheena was apprehensive about standing in the show windowing and modelling...and I didn’t have the figure (coz the tees were those figure hugging ones...so we couldn’t have a go at it :-(

We killed some time in the shops in that area as the Cone Dancers had a show after 15 mins...the wait was worth it as they were excellent... Set to music, two performers danced effortlessly on the outside of the giant eight meter high air-filled cone. It was an extraordinary acrobatic performance giving the feeling of an amazing gravity-defying illusion.

As the show got over we decided to walk to Regent Street and catch the Heliosphere ... using music, lighting and the location, the Heliosphere creates the illusion of flying. Spiraling and spinning and seemingly weightless, a lady was suspended beneath a massive helium balloon. The balloon was being managed by 3 men on the ground working on the strings. Looks easy...but while we were watching the men could not control the ropes and the lady nearly came crashing down...though she managed to balance out...

Somewhere in between we also watched some skateboarders...there was a setup for them to show off their skills. There was a really small boy - maybe 8-9 years who was really good...

And then suddenly it started raining…and brilliant Manpreet hadn’t got her umbrella...we decided to get into some shop...after browsing there we realized that it still hadn’t stop raining. I needed to go for a wedding reception later and since it was VIP day I needed to walk and get a bus from outside the VIP area...this was getting serious :-). We decided to walk to John Lewis and pick up an umbrella...
I bought the umbrella - a beautiful mushroom transparent one - and as we walked towards the exit...Sheena exclaims...itz snowing...I couldn’t believe it...we rushed out and realized it was John Lewis creating artificial snow :-)

And obviously the rain had stopped as I had bought an umbrella!!!

Grey, Wet London...

London - Stony, labyrinthine, cold...as dark as the inside of the needle...yet beautiful...

Italian Takeaway in London

Credit to my dear friend Joan for this picture...clicked when she was here last month...

A White Christmas in Aberdeen – Dec 2004

It’s not that I’d never seen snow before….I studied in Dehra Dun (Doon Valley) and many times when it snowed in Mussorie, the kiddies (Class 1 – 3) would be taken up to Mussorie to see the snowfall…but it was always after the snow had fallen…and not during the snowfall…

Imagine my excitement …one typical morning ( a few days before Christmas) I open the door of my building ….everything is totally white…It was snowing….I could not control the skip in my walk…and as I crossed the road there was this car at the traffic signal covered in snow… I just could not resist….its as if there was music in the air coz skipping along I whiffed off the snow from the car with my hand…The driver looked at me …initially with a lil irritation but I guess happiness showed on my face and he could not help but gimme a smile…

At work too… my colleagues seemed to sense my excitement… someone comes up and says…Manpreet…have you ever made a snowman…its fun…u should try making one in the office garden during lunch time… I look at him… it did sound fun… but I knew everyone would think I was crazy…sensing my apprehension he offers to give me company… but with a lot of difficulty I let sense prevail and tell him its not such a good idea…not a done thing in office… but I made up for that as I went to Duthie Park during the weekend and made a snowman ….

As I was leaving for lunch, another colleague comes up…he’s worried…he wants to tell me to be careful while walking on the snow but at the same time does not want to sound rude and make me feel ignorant and foolish…he’s like…see my shoes…one needs a good grip while walking …especially since after some time the snow becomes very slippery…one should walk slowly and put one’s foot firmly on the ground…(I think all he really wanted to say was …stop hopping and skipping along on the road)

Perfect end to a beautiful day... as I walked out of office that evening …Phut…I got hit by a snow ball …from nowhere…and I was reminded of a Calvin & Hobbes strip …reproduced below

All Calvin and Hobbes images are copyright Bill Watterson

Braemer Gathering - Sept 2004

I was lucky to be in Scotland in Sept …I got an opportunity to visit Scotland’s oldest and biggest highland gathering – the annual highland games in Braemer. It’s very popular and the Queen herself comes to take the salute here.

The bus ride from Aberdeen to Braemer has the most amazing scenery…it takes a lot to keep me silent…but that is just what the picturesque region did to me as I just eyeballed the spectacular Deeside scenery…native Scots pine and a variety of wildlife such as red squirrels and crossbills kept me engaged.

This drive is also known as the Royal Deeside as it follows the River Dee with some royal sights along the way, including the famous Balmoral Castle.

Passing through several pristine villages we finally reached our destination – Braemar… The whole place was dotted with good-looking men in skirts…the Scottish traditional kilts in green/blue/red-checked tartan…

Scots are a friendly lot and were more than happy to pose for photographs with us… One gentleman went to the extent of explaining in length the accessories like the Sporran and the headgear and the significance of the feather in his headgear.

Our photo session was cut short by the sound of the traditional pipes bands…The pipe bands are supposed to be the best and I have no doubt about that as I recall seeing them march down the road towards the field. It is known as the massing of the pipe bands because as many as 20 or more pipe bands will march and play together. The leader of the band – the Drum Major, carries a mace – a shoulder-high stick with large metal head - which at regular intervals he will toss up in the air and catch – without breaking a step

The play field is encircled by hills – one of the events is the Hill Race where the participants have to run up the hill and back – it is a unique climb as it is the only one in Scotland, which starts from the centre of a town.

There were these huge logs in the field – like telephone poles – I was just wondering what they were there for when I saw a man pick it up and toss it around – Yessss…that’s Caber throwing – a traditional feat of strength!!!


The day provided a perfect contrast – as the men showed off their strength with events like Caber throwing, throwing the hammer, the shot putt and tug-of-war, pretty Scottish girls continued with their highland dancing in the background.

A quick walk around the village and even quicker shopping… and then we rushed to get on to the last bus back to Aberdeen!!!

Photo courtesy: Sudip Saha